Chapter 5: New Friends and Foes

	After breakfast was over, Sora and Yume headed over to Kaleido Stage 
for the auditions. If Yume was nervous before, it expanded into full blown 
panic when they arrived and Sora showed her to the girls’ dressing room. A few 
of the other girls who were auditioning were already there getting dressed, 
and it certainly didn’t help her nerves in the least that she recognized a 
couple of them from various competitions. They weren’t top-level, big name 
stars, but they did have plenty of experience, which was more than Yume could 
say for herself.

	“You’ll be fine,” Sora said, as if somehow reading her mind. “Just do 
your best, okay?”

	Yume sighed heavily. That was easier said than done. “Well, I’ll try…”

	“Yume, stop being so pessimistic. Now, are you going to be fine here 
by yourself? I promised the girl playing the Little Mermaid that I would watch 
today’s show and give her some pointers, but if you would rather me stay 
here…”

	Yume shook her head. To be honest, it probably would be easier to 
skate without Sora watching her. At least then she wouldn’t have to worry 
about disappointing her big sister. “Go to the show,” Yume said, forcing a 
somewhat confident smile on her face. “I’ll be okay by myself.”

	“Are you sure? Okay, I’ll try to get back as soon as I can,” Sora 
promised, giving Yume a hug. “Now, go break a leg!”

	Once Sora had left, Yume took a seat at one of the vacant vanity 
tables and started getting ready. Luckily, instead of her usual everyday 
practice clothes, she had decided to bring one of the dresses she normally 
wore during practices at competition, though, looking at some of the other 
girls, Yume still felt underdressed. In particular, the girl at the vanity 
beside her, who Yume vaguely recognized as a French pairs skater who had 
recently parted ways with her former partner, had on full costume, hair, and 
make-up. 

	“That’s a cute dress,” the French girl said in a haughty tone when she 
caught Yume staring at her. “Very…simple.”

	Yume blushed in embarrassment, wishing she had brought one of her 
competition costumes after all as she pulled her hair up into a bun. She had 
always liked the sleeveless yellow dress she wore, but it was indeed very 
plain-looking compared to the sequins on the other girl’s dress.

	“You used to be a singles skater, didn’t you?” the girl pressed on, 
pulling out a tube of blood-red lipstick from her cosmetics kit. “I remember 
seeing you at Worlds last year. I didn‘t realize you skated pairs, too.”

	“I just started a few weeks ago,” Yume admitted, and the girl laughed.

	“A few weeks ago? You have got to be kidding me! Becoming Mikhail‘s” 
-- with her accent, though, she pronounced it more like “Michel's” -- “new 
partner is going to be easier than I thought if they’re letting complete 
amateurs try out.” Turning to the girl on the other side of her, the French 
skater tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, Marie, listen to this. This Japanese 
girl has only been skating pairs for a couple of weeks! Can you believe it?”

	“Dominique, don’t tell tales. I’m sure she has to be more experienced 
than that to be asked to try out,” Marie said.

	“It’s the truth! Ask her if you don’t believe me,” Dominique insisted, 
again turning to Yume, who was beginning to wish a gigantic hole would open up 
beneath her and swallow her whole. “Tell her I’m not lying, mon amie. What is 
your name, anyway? I don‘t remember it.”

	“It’s Yume Naegino, and, yes, it’s true, I just started skating pairs, 
although I‘ve been skating singles since I was a little girl,” Yume said, 
turning her attention to pulling on her skates.

	She had hoped that would be sign enough to the French girls that she 
wasn’t interested in any more conversation, but Dominique wouldn’t leave her 
alone. “Naegino, Naegino… Where have I heard that name before? Oh, right! 
That’s the name of that trapeze artist who works here, the fat one.”

	Though inside Yume was fuming at the insult to her sister, she forced 
herself to remain composed. “Sora isn’t fat. She’s four months pregnant.”

	“So you do know her?”

	“She’s my older sister.”	

	“Ah, so *that* explains it,” Dominique practically sneered, snapping 
her fingers. “You had an in here at Kaleido Stage. That‘s how you got the 
invitation to audition. Well, I assure you, Mademoiselle Naegino, that your 
sister‘s name will only get you so far in this audition. You might as well 
pack your bags and head back to Japan right now because there‘s no way Mikhail 
will ever pick a beginner like you to be his new partner.” Standing up, she 
again tapped her friend’s shoulder. “Come on, Marie. Let’s go warm up before 
the auditions start. I’m sure Mikhail will be watching.”

	With that, the two French girls left arm-in-arm, giggling all the way 
out the door. 

	Yume tried to put their cruel words out of her mind as she finished 
getting ready, but it was difficult when she couldn’t help but think they were 
right. She was totally out of her league. Maybe it would be better if she 
didn’t audition, after all. She could go find Sora and watch the new recruits’ 
production of 'The Little Mermaid', then spend the rest of her short time in 
California hanging out with Sora’s family.

	She started to untie her skates, planning to do just that, when the 
ringtone on her cell phone went off. Yume pulled the phone out of her bag and 
flipped it open to find that somebody had sent her a text message. To her 
surprise, it was Hiromasa Mihara.

	"Hey, Naegino-san," the message read, "I just wanted to wish you good 
luck. Gambatte!" 

	Smiling, Yume flipped her cell close and headed to the rink to warm 
up.

*****

	“All skaters, please approach the boards,” the voice of May Wong 
called out as the skaters’ warm-up period ended.

	Yume, who had been on the opposite end of the rink when the 
announcement was made, was among the last of the auditioning skaters to gather 
around the petite pairs coach, who had joined them on the ice. Mikhail 
Vladimirov had yet to make an appearance as far as Yume could tell, but she 
did notice Kalos Eido, the owner of Kaleido Stage, and his wife Sarah sitting 
in the bleachers, along with Yuri Killian, who was Kalos’ partner and Kaleido 
Stage’s head producer.

	“Is everybody here?” May asked, looking down at the clipboard in her 
hands. “Well, if they aren’t, then too bad. It’s bad enough that Mikhail 
hasn’t shown up yet. I‘m not dealing with--”

	Just then, the door to the men’s dressing room opened, and the Olympic 
champion himself came out, his skates thrown casually over his shoulders as he 
strolled over to the boards. May yelled something to him in what Yume assumed 
to be very rough Russian, but he merely shrugged his shoulders and sat down to 
put on his skates, seemingly oblivious to his coach’s anger. May rolled her 
eyes, then proceeded to call roll while her skater tied his boots.

	When Mikhail had finished, he joined May on the ice.

	“Glad you could join us today, Mikhail,” May said with a touch of 
sarcasm in her voice. Turning back to the girls, she introduced him. “As all 
of you should already know, this is Mikhail Vladimirov, four-time Russian 
national champion, three-time World champion, and current Olympic gold 
medalist.”

	All the girls applauded, giving him a warm welcome, but he did little 
to reciprocate, merely nodding his head in acknowledgement. He didn’t even 
smile, looking as if he would rather be anywhere but there.

	Despite that, however, Yume had to admit he was a very handsome man. 
She had seen him skate on TV before, of course, but he was even better-looking 
up-close and in person. His eyes, especially, were striking. They were a 
gorgeous ice blue, appropriate for a man called the “Ice Prince,” and Yume 
couldn’t stop staring at them, barely listening to May’s speech until Kalos 
interrupted her.

	“May, I know you already have plans for today’s try-out, but if it is 
alright with you, I’d like to be in charge of these auditions,” Kalos 
announced, standing up and coming up to the boards.

	“You do?” May asked, looking about as confused as everybody else by 
the sudden announcement. After all, Kalos had very little experience with 
figure skating other than putting on the occasional ice show. “Well, I suppose 
that would be okay…”

	“For the audition, I would like each girl to improvise a three-minute 
program with Vladimirov.”

	That certainly caught Yume’s attention, along with all of her fellow 
competitors’. He wanted them to improvise a *pairs* program? That was 
difficult enough as a singles skater, but to expect two people to improvise a 
program together… That was asking the impossible.

	May thought so, too. “Kalos, you can’t honestly expect these girls to 
improvise a pairs program with Mikhail. Not even pairs who have been skating 
together for years could do that, unless they were telepathic.”

	“Nevertheless, that will be their audition.”

	“I think it sounds interesting,” Mikhail said in halting English, 
speaking up for the first time since he arrived. “It’s a -- how you say? -- 
challenge.”

	“I think so, too,” Dominique, the rude French skater from the dressing 
room, agreed, probably thinking it would gain her points.

	May still didn’t seem quite convinced, but finally she threw her hands 
in the air in surrender. “Fine, we’ll do the improvisations. Liang, Colbert, 
Martinez, and Boudreaux, continue warming up with Mikhail. The rest of you, 
take a break. It’s going to be a long day.” 

*****

	Yume was scheduled to skate in the last group of the day, which meant 
a very long wait until her try-out. She didn’t exactly relish the thought of 
watching the other skaters’ auditions, not wanting to psych herself out before 
she even had a chance to skate, so taking off her skates, Yume threw her 
hoodie over her skating dress and decided to go find Sora.

	She found her older sister sitting in the bleachers at 'The Little 
Mermaid' show.

	“Yume, what are you doing here?” Sora asked as Yume took the empty 
seat beside her. “Are the auditions already over? Or…did you not make the 
first cut?”

	“I haven’t auditioned yet,” Yume said. “I’m in the last group, so they 
won’t get to me until after lunch. I thought since I had the time, I would 
come see the show and get my mind off of things for a while.”

	“I see.” Sora nodded sympathetically. “Well, you’re in for a treat. 
This group of new recruits is among the best we’ve ever had.”

	“Who’s playing the mermaid?”

	Sora passed Yume her program, which had mini-biographies on all the 
cast members, and pointed the girl out. “Rebecca Thomas is playing the lead,” 
Sora said, a bit of pride in her voice. “Do you remember my friends Jerry and 
Kate?”

	The names did sound familiar to Yume, though it took a moment before 
she could place them. “The police officer and the doctor?”

	She nodded. “Becca -- that’s what she prefers to go by -- is their 
daughter. She’s extremely talented and insanely smart. Can you believe she’s 
only sixteen, but she’s already graduated from high school? I predict very big 
things in her future.” 

	Yume looked down at the picture that accompanied the short biography. 
Due to her mixed-race background, Becca was an exotic-looking girl, with light 
cocoa-colored skin, emerald green eyes, and hair the color of honey. Yume 
thought she was absolutely gorgeous, and, watching her perform, she could see 
what Sora meant about Becca having a bright future ahead of her. She truly 
made the role of the Little Mermaid her own.

	The other recruits were just as talented. Sora had not lied when she 
said the group was among the best they ever had, and among them was a 
contortionist who was a definite crowd-pleaser. Every time she appeared on 
stage, the audience went absolutely wild.

	“Who is that girl?” Yume asked, flipping through the program for her 
picture. “She’s amazing! It’s almost like she doesn’t have any bones at all.”

	“That’s Zoe Eido.”

	“Eido?” Yume immediately looked up from the booklet, her eyes widening 
in surprise at the name. “You don’t mean…?”

	Sora laughed. “Yes, Zoe is Kalos’ and Sarah’s daughter, although you 
won’t find her listed under that name. She doesn’t like people thinking the 
only reason she’s a member of Kaleido Stage is because of her parents, so she 
uses Zoe Alexander as her stage name.”

	Thinking back to what Dominique said in the dressing room about how 
she only got the audition because of Sora, Yume could certainly understand the 
appeal. “Maybe I should use a stage name…” she mused as she flipped to Zoe’s 
biography, unaware she had voiced the thought aloud until Sora looked over at 
her.

	“Why do you want to use a stage name, Yume? Don’t you like your name?”

	Considering Sora had been the one to name her, Yume immediately 
regretted what she said. “No, that’s not it, Sora,” Yume assured her. “I love 
my name. It’s just…” She sighed. “Well, one of the other skaters said the only 
reason I got this audition was because you are my sister.”

	“You know that isn’t true, though. Kalos had no idea who you were 
until after he watched your tape. The reason why you were invited to audition 
is because he saw something special in you, Yume, not because of your name.”

	“Yes, but what if, by some miracle, I actually win this audition? I 
know I’m not as technically advanced as the other girls, so if I do become Mr. 
Vladimirov’s new partner, people are going to think it is because of your 
influence.”

	“They probably will,” Sora admitted. “I won’t deny it, but, if that 
does happen, you’ll just have to work hard to prove that they’re wrong. That’s 
what I did when I first joined Kaleido Stage. Until I took Layla’s challenge 
to perform the Golden Phoenix, everybody was convinced the only reason Kalos 
allowed me to join was because they wrongly thought we were sleeping 
together.”

	“What?!” Yume had never heard that part of the story before. “You told 
me it took a while for the others to accept you, since you didn’t have a 
proper audition, but you never said anything about that.”

	Sora shrugged her shoulders. “Well, you’re an adult now. You can 
handle the truth,” she said. “However, the point I’m trying to make is that 
even if people think you get preferential treatment because you’re my sister 
or whatever, as long as you prove to yourself that you deserve it by working 
hard and being dedicated, that’s all that really matters. Don‘t let them make 
you doubt yourself, okay? Because you *do* deserve this chance.”

	“Thanks.”

	Yume smiled, feeling a little better. Sora was right. She needed to 
stop worrying so much about what other people thought and just do the best she 
possibly could, and, as she and Sora turned their attention back to the show, 

that’s exactly what she vowed to do.

*****

	“Are you sure you don’t want me to come watch your audition?” Sora 
asked as she walked Yume back to the rink after the show was over.

	“I’ll be fine, Sora,” Yume assured her older sister. “Really. I‘m 
going to do exactly as you said. I‘m just going to try my best and not worry 
so much about the other things.”

	“I’m glad to hear it.” As they turned a corner, Sora threw a sisterly 
arm around Yume’s shoulders. “So, what kind of audition did May come up with, 
anyway? Knowing her, it’s probably something very difficult.”

	“It is, but Ms. Wong didn’t come up with it. Mr. Eido decided what we 
would have to do at our audition.”

	“Kalos did?”

	Yume nodded. “Somehow he expects us to be able to improvise a pairs 
program with Mr. Vladimirov on the spot,” she explained, frowning. “I honestly 
don’t know what Ms. Wong was thinking, going along with such an idea. You 
can’t do that kind of thing on the…sly?”

	“Fly,” Sora corrected with a smile. “And I’m sure there’s a good 
reason why Kalos wants the skaters to do that. He can be rather unorthodox in 
his methods, but he does know talent when he sees it.” 

	Yume still failed to see the reason behind the improvisations, but, if 
Sora held Kalos’ judgment in such high regard, she supposed she ought not 
question it so much. He apparently knew what he was doing, even if nobody else 
did. “Well, the one good thing about it is that it does put us all more or 
less on equal ground, since none of us knows what to expect,” she said, 
stopping when she saw the door to the dressing room. “Well, I guess I better 
start stretching. My group’s warm-up should be starting soon.”

	“Okay,” Sora said, giving Yume a hug. “Good luck, Yume. Oh, and, 
remember, even if it’s just Kalos and May watching, the audience is always the 
most important thing. You can perform the most technically perfect program, 
but if it fails to make your audience feel anything, then you have failed in 
your role as a performer. Don’t forget that.”

	“I won’t.”

	Sora gave her one more hug, then left. Yume, hearing the faint sound 
of music coming from the rink, grabbed her skates from the dressing room and 
headed inside to join the others.

	Dominique, the overconfident French skater, was currently on the ice 
with Mikhail, but she was not skating well at all. Yume might have laughed in 
triumph had she not seen several other skaters sobbing, evidently suffering 
the same fate. In fact, not a single skater who had already auditioned seemed 
confident she had done well, and the three other girls who were in the last 
group with her looked as if they were about to throw up, huddled together by 
the boards as they watched Dominique make a fool of herself on the ice.

	“This is ridiculous,” an American skater in the group who looked 
vaguely familiar said, shaking her head. “Not a single girl has been able to 
keep up with him. How they expect to pick a new partner when we can’t even 
show off our moves properly, I have no idea.”

	“Si, si. Senor Eido is loco if he thinks this is any way to hold a 
proper pairs audition,” a pretty Hispanic girl agreed.

	The last girl, who Yume thought might be Russian, also nodded her 
agreement.

	“So, nobody has done well?” Yume asked, joining the three at the 
boards.

	“You haven’t been watching?” the American asked. When Yume shook her 
head, she sighed. “That was probably smart of you. It’s been one disastrous 
program after another. Vladimirov is making us all look like complete amateurs 
out there. I‘m seriously thinking about just calling it a day, but I‘ve 
already come this far…” Her voice trailed off, and she smiled, offering Yume a 
hand. “My name is Clarissa Bachman, by the way,” she introduced herself. “This 
is Pilar Santos, and the other girl’s name is Elizaveta, but don’t ask us to 
pronounce her last name. It’s Polish, and completely unpronounceable. She 
doesn’t speak much English either.”

	“I’m Yume,” Yume said, taking Clarissa’s hand and smiling. Already, 
she liked the girl much better than Dominique. “It’s nice to meet you.”

	“Same here, Yume. So, you’re from Japan?”

	“I was actually born here in Cape Mary while my parents were visiting 
my sister, but I’ve lived in Tokyo all my life.”

	“That’s so cool! I went to Tokyo a couple of years ago with my former 
partner Brian for the NHK Trophy, and it was such an awesome city. I think it 
was probably my favorite competition locale. I‘d love to go back some day.”

	“Where are you all from?” Yume asked.

	“Oh, you’ve probably never heard of it,” Clarissa said, frowning. 
“Certainly no where near as exciting as Tokyo. I’m a small town Midwestern 
girl, although until Brian and I decided to go our separate ways, I was 
training in Boston.” 

	“And I’m from Los Angeles,” Pilar replied. “Born and raised.”

	Yume wasn’t expecting Elizaveta to give an answer, assuming she didn’t 
understand the question, but the Polish girl answered in broken English, “I…
come from…Krakow.”

	Just then, the music stopped, ending Dominique’s and Mikhail’s 
program. Dominique looked almost in tears as she took her bow, but there was a 
small scattering of polite applause from the other skaters as the French girl 
skated off the ice and into the waiting arms of her friend Marie.

	“Well, I guess it’s our turn to face the music,” Clarissa announced 
with a heavy sigh, and the girls, including Yume, headed onto the ice for 
their final warm-up.

*****

	Clarissa had not lied when she said that nobody was able to keep up 
with the Ice Prince. As the last skater to audition, Yume watched the other 
three girls in her group try to skate with Mikhail from her spot at the 
boards, cringing in sympathy as each one made stumble after stumble. From what 
she had seen, Clarissa was the best of the bunch, but that wasn’t saying much. 
They all made tons of mistakes.

	After one particularly bad fall by Pilar on a throw triple loop, Yume 
sighed. Mikhail was completely ruining them. It was as if he didn’t even want 
to find a new partner. That’s the only explanation Yume could think of to 
explain why he kept improvising such intricate choreography and expecting his 
potential partners to be able to match him. But why was he sabotaging 
everybody?

	As Pilar and Mikhail ended their program with an awkward pairs spin, 
Yume clapped, but, inside, she felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Her 
turn was next, yet she had absolutely no idea how to escape the fate of the 
others. When May called her name to come onto the ice, it was as if Yume was 
frozen in place, unable to move. It took a light shove from Clarissa, who had 
been standing right beside her to watch Pilar’s skate, to unparalyze her.

	Out on the ice, Yume skated to the center of the rink where the Ice 
Prince was waiting for her, unsure of what to expect. Mikhail didn’t say a 
word to her, not even a simple “Hello,” as he took her by the arms and began 
posing her for their opening position. Yume felt like a mannequin as he tried 
different poses, but, finally, he found one he liked, getting into position 
himself and nodding to his coach to begin the music.

	The music for their program was a techno number. Mikhail immediately 
began moving his arms robotically to the beat, a move Yume tried to mirror 
with little success since she never quite knew what he would be doing next.

	After a few measures, they began to actually skate. Mikhail continued 
doing his strange arm movements, but Yume decided to forgo them in favor of 
concentrating on matching his footwork, which was difficult enough on its own. 
Footwork had always been one of her strong suits as a singles skater, but she 
had never had to do it with somebody else before, and it showed.

	After the footwork sequence, Mikhail grabbed her hand and began doing 
crossovers. Yume realized that meant he probably wanted to do a throw jump, so 
she prepared herself for the only jump she knew, the throw triple toe loop. 
When he let go of hand, Yume felt his hands on his hips, but instead of 
throwing her out, as she expected, he threw her up, forcing Yume to pull off a 
very awkward split double twist. 

	After that, they went into side-by-side camel spins, although just 
when Yume thought she had gotten her spin synchronized with his, Mikhail 
suddenly decided to move to the sit spin. Because of that, they were out of 
sync for the rest of the spinning sequence, and, when Yume pulled out of her 
spin, a couple of seconds behind her partner, she was thoroughly frustrated 
with him.

	He is nuts, Yume thought as he lifted her up for a star lift. He has 
absolutely no consideration at all for any of the girls trying out. He must 
realize by now that he’s making things way too difficult for an improvised 
pairs program, but he still won’t lessen the difficulty. Well, I have had 
about enough of it. If this is how Vladimirov-san is going to treat the girl 
unlucky enough to become his new partner, then I don’t want it anymore. I’ll 
just do my own thing.

	And that was exactly what she did once Mikhail set her back down on 
the ice. He lifted his leg up for a spiral, holding his hand out to her for 
her to join him, but, ignoring it, Yume decided to go for a double axel, 
landing it perfectly. For the first time that day, the other skaters began 
clapping in the middle of a program, instead of just polite applause at the 
end, and Yume began to relax, just as she had done during her free skate at 
All-Japan. 

	Mikhail, for his part, seemed shocked by what she had just done, 
although after a brief falter, he covered it well. Apparently realizing that 
Yume had no intention of following him any longer, he let her take the lead, 
matching his movements to hers instead of the other way around.

	Though Yume had every chance to get revenge on him, she kept her moves 
simple and easy to follow, amazed by the change. They were almost skating 
together like a team now. Their unison was still a bit off, and Yume two-
footed the throw triple toe she and Hiromasa had worked so hard to master, but 
that didn’t really seem to matter. The audience, despite only consisting of 
twenty to thirty people, loved them.

	For the grand finale, Yume threw in her trademark one-footed backflip, 
surprised when Mikhail managed to land one as well. They then skated back to 
the center of the ice, ending the program with a successful pairs spin. 

	As they took their bows, the other skaters clapped wildly, almost 
everybody in the rink giving them a standing ovation. Dominique, of course, 
stayed sitting in her spot in the bleachers, but even she had to begrudgingly 
give them applause. When Yume skated off the ice, she got excited hugs from 
both Clarissa and Pilar.

	“Yume, you did it!” Clarissa squealed, hugging her again. “That was 
amazing. You’re going to be Mikhail Vladimirov’s new partner!”

	“I don’t know about that,” Yume said honestly, putting on her skate 
guards. Sure, she had managed to skate better than most of the other girls who 
tried out, but that was only because she didn’t try to follow Mikhail’s 
ridiculously difficult choreography. “I completely ignored him after that one 
lift. I don’t think he liked that.”

	Pilar rolled her dark brown eyes. “Who cares, chica? That man totally 
needed to be taken down a few pegs. I only wish I had the cojones to do what 
you did.”

	“Me, too,” Clarissa agreed. “I was so worried about impressing him 
that I never even thought about taking the lead away from him. That was pure 
brilliance!”

	“Or pure stupidity, depending on how you look at it.”

	Neither of the girls seemed to hear Yume, leading her over to the 
bleachers where the rest of the skaters had gathered. Mikhail, May, Kalos, 
Yuri, and Sarah had disappeared, presumably to make their final decision, but 
nobody wanted to take a break, all anxious to hear the results, even though 
the general consensus seemed to agree that Yume had won the right to become 
Mikhail‘s new partner. 

	“You know, to be honest, I’m not sure if I even want to be Mr. 
Vladimirov’s partner anymore,” Yume confessed as they sat down by Elizaveta, 
ignoring Dominique’s furious stares. “He doesn’t seem like a very friendly 
guy.”

	“Well, they do call him the Ice Prince,” Clarissa pointed out. “I 
guess that applies to his personality both on-and-off the ice.”

	“He is gorgeous, though, isn’t he?” Pilar mused, sighing dreamily. 
“I’d put up with his coldness in a heartbeat if it meant I could stare at a 
man that caliente all day long.”

	Despite herself, Yume felt her cheeks grow hot, a fact she tried to 
hide by looking down and taking off her skates. 

	“Pilar, don’t tell me the only reason why you auditioned was because 
Vladimirov is hot,” Clarissa said, raising an eyebrow.

	“Well, it wasn’t the *only* reason.”

	“Pilar!”

	“Oh, like I’m the only one here who had that thought cross her mind,” 
Pilar said. “Besides, it’s been way too long since I’ve had a boyfriend. Most 
of the guys I meet in this business are either taken or gay.”

	“I’ll agree with you on that,” Clarissa acquiesced. “What about you, 
Yume? Is there some guy waiting for you back home in Tokyo?”

	“No, not really.” A vision of Hiromasa’s text message briefly flashed 
in her mind, but Yume ignored it. After all, they were only friends. “I’ve 
never really been all that interested in boys and dating. All my life, my 
number one love was skating.”

	“So you’ve never had a boyfriend?”

	“I’ve never even been kissed,” she admitted with some embarrassment.

	“You poor, deprived girl,” Pilar said, shaking her head. “I’ll tell 
you what. When you do get the job here, you’re going to come visit me down in 
L.A. and I’m going to take you to all of the hottest clubs in Hollywood. How 
old are you, anyway?”

	“Eighteen.”	

	“Good. I know some places that’ll let you in as long as you don’t 
drink. Actually, I know of a few places that don‘t care either way, but if you 
want to meet a cute guy, it‘s better, and safer, to remain sober. So, what do 
you think? Is it a date?”

	To be honest, Yume had no interest in going clubbing, but she didn’t 
want to hurt Pilar’s feelings by outright saying no. “We don’t even know yet 
if I am going to become Mr. Vladimirov’s new partner,” Yume reminded her 
instead. 

	“Oh, come on, Yume! If he doesn’t pick you, then he’s loco en la 
cabeza.”

	At that point, the group in charge of deciding Mikhail’s new partner 
returned to the rink, faster than Yume expected. All conversation between the 
hopefuls stopped, and May walked over to them, Mikhail right behind her. 
Neither of them said anything, drawing out the suspense, and both Clarissa and 
Pilar took one of Yume’s hands, squeezing them tightly.

	“After careful consideration, Mikhail, Kalos, Yuri, and myself have 
decided who shall become Mikhail’s new professional partner, earning a one 
year contract with Kaleido Stage and the starring role in this company’s new 
production,” May finally said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. 
“It was a difficult decision to make. As I’m sure you are all well aware, 
Mikhail did not go easy on any of you. Nobody was perfect, but one stood out 
above the rest.

	“However, before I announce that girl’s name, I am pleased to also 
announce the names of the four girls who have also been offered one year 
contracts with Kaleido Stage.”

	That announcement came as a surprise to all the girls, and a ripple of 
hushed conversation started up again, though it stopped when May held up her 
hand.

	“Congratulations to Elizaveta Krzyzewska, Pilar Santos, Clarissa 
Bachman, and Dominique Fontenot.”

	Yume squealed along with the three other girls who had been in her 
flight, giving her newfound friends each a heartfelt hug of congratulations. 
Dominique, however, did not seem happy even though she had won a contract with 
Kaleido Stage, and Yume felt the French skater staring daggers at her back.

	“Yume, can you believe it?” Clarissa asked in a heavy whisper, 
squeezing Yume’s hand even tighter than before. “If you become Vladimirov’s 
new partner, which we all know you will, we will all be skating here together. 
Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

	Yume nodded, her heart suddenly beginning to race. She still wasn’t 
sure if she really wanted to be the Ice Prince’s new partner, but the thought 
of being able to train every day with Clarissa, Pilar, and even shy Elizaveta 
made her suddenly wish that Mikhail had picked her after all. As May once 
again dragged out the moment, Yume found herself squeezing Clarissa’s and 
Pilar’s hands just as tightly as they did hers, her breath caught in her 
throat as they waited for the announcement.

	“And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” May said. “The 
girl who will become Mikhail Vladimirov’s new professional pairs partner is…”



DISCLAIMER: Kaleido Star doesn’t belong to me.

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Any comments and criticisms can be sent to me at 
ElysionDream@aol.com.